Reflection

One year ago today, March 11, I woke up, went to work, headed to the Shelter after work for our Wednesday night Dog Walking Club, and then went out to dinner with friends before our friend Claire would head back home to Australia the next morning.  The news of Covid was fairly new here and we had no idea what was headed our way.  I remember sitting there waiting for our dinner and the discussion we had with Claire about the toilet paper shortage they were dealing with in Australia(and that she had packed toilet paper to take back with her from the US) and thinking that was one of the craziest things I had heard.   

That was the last time I ate dinner inside of a restaurant.  

Over that weekend, I went into the store to do my normal grocery shopping and the shelves were bare, items like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and cleaners were scarce.  I didn't understand the panic buying, I never have understood it, but it was certainly happening.  I will never forget the woman I saw leaving the store with two cases of Canola Oil and wondering why, of all things, she was buying so much of that.  It was still a few more days until I got the call that changed things even more and started my work-from-home life on March 17.   There was so much uncertainty and certainly most of us weren't thinking that the course of our lives would change so much over the next year.  Those are days I won't soon forget.

 

Fast forward one year to today.  It is so strange to think back to what the world was like and what my daily life was like then.  Certainly much has changed for many of us, and I know many people have suffered some pretty big losses.  I feel very fortunate that I am not one of them.   Honestly, the events of the last year have helped improve my life in many ways.  I am thankful that it has given me the opportunity to work from home permanently, something I've always wanted to do.  The improvement in my happiness and job satisfaction with that change has been wonderful, not to mention the saving and health benefits.

I am also very thankful that I have been able to spend so much time with Maddie and Peaches over the last year.  It has been especially nice to be able to spend this time with Maddie as she gets older.  I know that the time we have left together is limited.  As she nears the age of 15, I may have a few months or maybe a year left with her, and being able to be here with her every day has been a complete blessing.  I know she feels the same way.

I know that many people are anxiously waiting to get back to a more normal life, but I think that what is normal will still be much different than what it was pre-Covid, at least for the short-term.  Some of that I think is for the better.  People have slowed down and have been forced to spend more time with their families and I think that priorities have shifted a bit.  And I think that is a good thing.  

People have had to stay closer to home and to spend more time outdoors and I have definitely seen the impact of that as I am out and about town with the girls.   Parks that I normally had to myself are much busier now and while I miss the time to myself in those places, it is also nice to see families out making memories...I'm sure those are the things that their children will remember about the past year, not the bad things that came with this horrible virus, but the happy times that they spent with their parents.

I also discovered so many new places close to home, places I didn't even know existed in my own backyard.  Places that I will continue to enjoy for years to come.  When someone who loves to wander is forced to stay close to home, it is amazing what they'll find!  And I have loved discovering and enjoying these new places with the girls.  I know that the girls have enjoyed them too.  Maddie is, after all, an adventure dog.  And an adventure dog also needs new places to explore.  Even when she can't go far or if she spends some time relaxing in the car while Peaches and I get in a little longer walk, she has loved the new journeys we have made together.

Over the last couple of weeks, as we approach Spring in Michigan, the snow has begun to melt as the days have gotten warmer and the sun has shined longer.  It is my favorite time of year.  I love the longer daylight hours which allow us to get out and do more.  The sunshine, which disappears from Michigan for most of the Winter, has returned along with the birds.  There is just something special about this time of year.  

We have also gotten to a point where things seem to be slowly reopening here in Michigan as Covid cases and deaths decline and more and more people are being vaccinated.  It just seems to be a very hopeful time of year.  I hope that those positive trends continue, but I also hope that people remember all the things we've been through, all the things we've learned over the last year, and I hope we all remember what is truly important in life.  

We still have a way to go before we are through this pandemic,  but just like I have done for the last year, I'm going to continue to get up and make the most of every day.  If we've learned nothing else in the last year, we should have learned that every day is a blessing and we should make the best of each day we have.  And that's just what the girls and I plan to do!

We've been taking full advantage of these warmer days to get out for some nice long weekend hikes on the North Country Trail.  As I am sure I have previously mentioned, not only are we working on hiking 100 miles on the trail again this year, (the 6th year for me and the 4th for Peaches), we are also working on the Chief Noonday Chapter's "Hike the County" challenge.  This is a challenge to hike every mile of the North Country trail that runs through the Chief Noonday Chapter-which encompasses Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Barry Counties- a total of 119 miles.    

We are thankful that Vanessa has decided to join us for the challenge this year so that we can stage cars at each end of our desired hike for the week, therefore ending the need for us to cover each section twice on out and back hikes.  This has been a game changer!  Combine that with the milder Winter weather we had in January, and we were making great progress until Winter hit us hard with some deep snow and frigid temperatures for the first few weeks of February.

Thankfully, the weather improved again and with temperatures in the mid to upper 40s, we have had some really great hiking weather the last couple of weeks.   While our original plan was to complete all 119 miles by the beginning of May, the February delays are making it look like we may not finish until a little later in the month, but we are still plugging away at those miles!

Peaches has been loving those hikes, even when they are 10 1/2 miles of road walk like we had between Marshall and Battle Creek.  Maddie patiently waits in the car for most of our hike, but we are always sure to get her out for whatever distance she can handle, whether that is a mile or a quarter mile, at the end of the day before we head home.  No matter how far she goes with us, she is always just happy to be along for any adventure.  And we are happy to have her there.

After a long day of hiking, the girls are normally ready to settle in for a quiet night, but some times I guess my dinner seems more interesting than sleep.  I will add that this is really a rare occasion that I have an audience for dinner, but once-in-awhile I don't mind, and when I was done eating, of course I shared a bite with each of them.

This past weekend we completed a little over 8.25 miles on the North Country Trail in Battle Creek at the end of Calhoun County and the beginning of Kalamazoo County.  We started in Kalamazoo County in the section through Fort Custer which was beautiful on a warm sunny day, but we still needed our ice cleats for portions of the trail.  

Once we entered Calhoun County again, we discovered what both of us thought was one of the most boring sections of the trail that we have been on yet.   It was sidewalk running through a industrial/warehouse area of town.  Not the most scenic section, but we got through it!  With that walk, we are now down to only 7 miles left until we complete the 58 miles in Calhoun County!  And we left what is most likely the most scenic section of the county for last.  I'm pretty excited for our next hike.

At the end of our hike on Saturday, we got Maddie out to join us for the less than one mile section between parking lots in Augusta.  She was happy to be out with Vanessa for our walk, although at just over a half mile in she started looking back toward where she knew there was a car.  Vanessa convinced her to keep going with promises of a car at the other end, and we made it successfully there with a very happy girl!

After our big Saturday adventure, I decided to have a quieter Sunday, but we still got out for a little geocaching adventure.  Peaches is becoming a pretty good geoDog...although she wasn't happy that I made her sit for a picture.

As we reached the 51 week mark since I started working from home, I thought this picture summed up pretty well how things are going.  While there are moments when Peaches is needy or whiny, she spends a lot of time napping too.  She has found lately that it's okay to spend time away from me and has spent less time in the office every day and more time on the bed or in the living room.  I guess she's getting sick of me!

With the nice weather this week, she has also spent a lot more time outside again.  Peaches loves Spring and is happy to be back out on the hunt for birds, squirrels, and mail carriers!  Maddie still prefers to spend her days in the office with me and I'm glad that she does.

Another interesting part of our week was the girls vet appointment on Monday.  It's been almost a year since we have been inside the vet's office and sitting in the car as we wait for our appointments has become the norm.  I was reflecting with our vet on Monday that I was in their office one year ago on the very last day that we were allowed to be inside for our appointments just before they shut down vets for most routine procedures here in Michigan.  

It's certainly been a crazy year and I'm lucky to have a great veterinary team and dogs who are so well behaved that I don't worry about them when they are inside without me.  I know that they will be loved and spoiled by everyone on the staff.

And to round out our year of Covid, it seemed only appropriate that I was able to get my first vaccine this week.  I'm sure that anyone who saw me snapping pictures while waiting thought I was crazy, but I thought that this was a pretty historic moment and should be preserved for the future.  I also was very impressed by the people working at the MSU Pavilion and how smoothly everything went.  Good job Ingham County!

Of course the girls joined me as well.  They've been with me every step of the way through the pandemic, so I thought they should be there too.  Maddie enjoyed watching the crowds of cars as we waited.

Both girls enjoyed this little adventure, but I think Peaches enjoyed it most.  She got treats and so much attention from everyone there.  It was a pretty great day for her.

As I reflect on this last year, I am certainly thankful for many things: my health, my job, my family's health, and the girls.  I am thankful for my friends and I'm grateful for all of the awesome parks and trails we have been able to explore.  I'm grateful for all of the people out there helping each other and caring for each other and those who have put themselves at risk every day to keep us safe, healthy, fed...the list goes on.  

Remember to be grateful for what you have as well, it really does make each day better when we remember the things we gave to be thankful for in our lives.

365 days seems like a long time, but really it's just a blip in the grand scheme of life.